By CKPG News

SD 57 Candidate Questions: William Price

SD 57 Candidate Questions: William Price

May 30, 2023 | 12:00 AM

1. Why are you running for school trustee?

I chose to run for School Board Trustee now, as I feel I can bring important views to the table.

What I bring to the table is a breadth of knowledge from various locations and view points. I have worked in a couple of different education systems: as an Educational Assistant Northern Manitoba with the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and tech support with the Yekooche First Nation. I have lived throughout a lot of BC, from Prince Rupert, to Prince George and from Prince George down to Vancouver. During the last 10 years I have served on several Boards: locally with Bel Canto Choirs and the Fraser Lyric Opera Society and provincially with the Board for Food Banks BC.

Over the last few months I have seen what appears to be a Board struggling to get traction on moving forward with creating a safe Education environment for all students, staff, and families. I think my experience on diverse Boards and my desire to create these safe spaces for all students, staff, and families are something that will be of use to this Board.

I would approach this Board as I have all the Boards I have been on: as a collaborative effort to move forward and solve any issues as they arise.

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2. Do you support sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) education in B.C.? Why or why not?

I would like to answer this question in two parts.
A) SOGI is provincially mandated by the BC Ministry of Education. It is one element of diversity that is to be embedded into all grade curriculums. It is designed so that ALL students are represented in the course material they interact with. As such, my opinion on it is irrelevant and I MUST put my opinions aside if they interfere with my job as a Trustee.
B) As this is a flashpoint at this time, I would like to lay out that from a personal perspective, EVERY child must find the school setting a safe and inclusive place to be. To paraphrase Ivan Coyote, “Everyone needs a safe place to pee.”

3. What does School Board transparency mean to you? How will you work to make sure school board activities are transparent for stakeholders and the public?

To me, transparency is at the root of what we do as a Board. “The fundamental obligation of the Board is to preserve, if not enhance, the public trust in in education generally and in the affairs of its operations in particular.” (Policy 7 School District 57, Prince George). Without transparency and an accountability to the public we fail at our fundamental obligation.

4. What are the top three issues facing students?

a) Feeling safe and included in their School Society
b) Having the supports in place to allow them to achieve their full potential as students and as citizens in our society.
c) Having the non-educational politics of the day infringe upon their learning environment

5. Is the school district doing enough to prepare students for success following graduation? If not, what could it do better to prepare students?

I believe the School District is doing a fair job in supporting a majority of students in being prepared for a life after school. However, I do not believe we are doing enough for the marginalized students. These students struggle every day to get enough supports to help them reach their full potential and to blossom into the fine citizens that they can become.